Maisie Williams talks about her traumatic childhood. Image Source: NME
Maisie Williams talks about her traumatic childhood.
Actress Maisie Williams, who is popularly known for portraying the character of Arya Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones, recently spoke about her traumatic childhood on the latest episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast, with host Steven Bartlett.
Maisie shared with Steven that as a young child before the age of eight, she had quite a traumatic relationship with her father, but mentioned that she does not want to dwell on that part too much because it affects her siblings and her entire family, but added that let’s just say that it consumed a lot of her childhood and shared that ever since she can remember, she has struggled to sleep.
The Pistols star further commented that while a lot of traumatic things were happening during her childhood, Maisie had not realized that they were wrong. Since then, the actress claimed, she has battled with her identity and mental health, but she has finally been able to accept the truth about her history. In a podcast interview she gave in 2019, she discussed her mental health and said that she constantly worries about what other people might think of her. She also said that she believes that everyone would say that, given their circumstances, they should stop caring and turn a blind eye, but that's simply not possible.
Later, somewhere in the interview with Steven, the actress shared that she recalled a memory of her teacher asking her if she was hungry, to which she said that she was and told her teacher that she did not typically eat breakfast. The actress broke down in tears while explaining that they were asking the right questions and she does think that it is important because she had so many people who loved her and cared for her but she had never been asked the right questions where she was given space or allowed to express what was so wrong. Maisie said that after her mother came to pick her up from school, she remembered that it was the first time that all of the doors were sort of open and all of the things that they were experiencing were out on the table.
Maisie Williams revealed during the conversation with Steven Bartlette that she was a part of a child cult against her mother and that she was somewhat brainwashed, which is why she believes she has an obsession with cults. The actress claimed that everything she had ever believed to be true had been turned on its head. However, while experiencing all of these emotions, she could only focus on the fact that she would no longer have to see her father.
Steven asked Maisie about the conflicting emotions once someone finds the ability to leave a cult, and the actress said that one can feel so liberated and free and, at the same time, that impending doom is kind of still there, like the problems do not go away. The 25-year-old added that if someone leaves a cult, they may still care for them and comprehend the suffering or other circumstances that contributed to their extremely awful choices.
Maisie responded that, to be honest, she had been thinking a lot about the whole situation when the podcast host asked her how she felt about her father today. Not simply when someone has a bad day and pushes in front of them in line, she has been attempting to stop taking things personally. But what if, Maisie continued, she claimed that she had nothing to do with the major events of life? It would have been someone else if she hadn't been present. These incidents occurred when she was a young child, not because she has a problem. The actress continued by saying that as she matured, she realized that she was not to blame for the unfortunate events that befell her.
Maisie went on to say that even more so because it was a parent, she felt like well they're supposed to like you but then she wondered, what if there's no link between her being her father's daughter? and the grief could have come from anyone and would still be felt the same way, she added. Maisie claimed that she was able to reflect and even become more interested in the guy because she was able to separate herself from her father's actions. She is no longer in touch with her father but said that she is now coming in terms with her trauma.
You may watch the nearly two-hour-long interview at the top of this article or on the YouTube page for The Diary of a CEO. The actress is a part of an upcoming show, 'The New Look', that will examine the growth of fashion designer Christian Dior, which is being filmed at the moment.
Call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 if you have any suspicions of child abuse, or visit http://www.childhelp.org. All phone calls are free and private. The hotline is accessible around-the-clock in more than 170 languages.
